Why do we luv to see Nazi skullz bashed in? There’s just something about it. And whether or not they’re used symbolically, Nazi’s representing evil always works (well, unless you’re an old skool Austrian or white power freak or Holocaust denier who sez, and I paraphrase from the comments on one web site, that this is a kiss-ass propaganda flick Tarantino made for his Jewish bosses, but otherwise…).

Fresh out of the theater, Inglourious deserves all it’s praise; this from someone who is not a huge Tarantino fan. Not that I dislike his movies per say, but his sarcastic stylings with corny, overdone violence kept many of his movies from being believable, which I like my movies -even fantasy movies- to be. Or maybe a better way to put it is that the really implausible parts snap me out of the dream, and I prefer to be lost in or transported into the movies I watch.

In this case (though I had to cover my eyes during the parts when Tarantino was trying to imprint my brain with graphic shock I’d never shake), the humor was…funny!…and the “clever” homages worked. Instead of E-Z schlock, Inglourious is imbued with quality that makes a viewer feel cared for, as opposed to feeling like the joke was one you. All the pieces fit, coalesced, and there were no moments where the director left me sitting in the cold (theater).

For the timid who sat through Passion of the Christ — this flick may be bloody but much less monotonously, oppressively, depressingly so. And I’m only comparing it because while some may avoid Basterds for its gore, I thought Passion was one of the most violent, racist movies I’d ever seen; yet those of the G-d-fearing variety gave it a pass because it was about Jesus. So, all I’m saying is, a fantasy Nazi killing spree deserves some of the same leeway.

Brad Pitt was incredibly entertaining. Christopher Waltz will win an Academy Award. No wonder it took so long to create! Yes, my butt hurt at 2 1/2 hours and I wished we were in the theater upstairs with the couches, but it was worth it. Alongside Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction, this is a Tarantino flick that deserves a second viewing.

For Tarantino’s most violent Reservoir Dog T’s and other bloody gear, check out Gold Label’s selection.

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Darby Romeo, Gold Label critic-at-large, was editor / publisher of the popular ‘zine Ben Is Dead, as well as the one-off I Hate Brenda Newsletter, the Lollapalooza Tour Magazine and website Coconut Girl Wireless. She edited and co-wrote the book Retro Hell: Life in the 70s and 80s from Afros to Zotz, and has contributed to Vanity Fair, Alternative Press, Village Voice, The Chicago Tribune and LA Times. Despite all efforts, she’s only a pro-surfer in her mind.